Many factors contribute to local poverty

Wednesday

What is poverty in Henderson County? It’s a complicated question that local leaders are trying to address from all sides.

Area nonprofit leaders focused on poverty issues spoke to the Vision Henderson County Alumni Association during a breakfast Wednesday morning at Daddy D’s Suber Soulfood on Seventh Avenue.

Henderson County Public Health Director Steve Smith began with statistics. Among the county’s population of 116,000 people, 13.3 percent are within the federally established poverty levels. One in five Henderson County children lives in poverty.

Housing affordability is a large factor. Smith said more than 47 percent of people spend more than a third of their income on housing, 20 percent spend more than half.

“Poverty may not be incredibly apparent to you every day, but it is in front of you,” Smith said. “It’s the person who’s handing your order at a fast food restaurant, it’s the guy at the dry cleaner handing you clothes, it’s the kid in the after-school program. It is in front of you every day, you just may not be aware of it.”

Kristen Martin, executive director of the nonprofit Thrive, elaborated on the effects unaffordable housing has had in the area. Thrive assists individuals who are experiencing mental health and housing instability.

Martin said the demographics of people who experience homelessness are across the board: infants, seniors, college educated and those working two or more jobs. A person earning minimum wage must work 70 hours a week to be able to afford fair market housing, which is $799 a month for a one-bedroom unit.

Henderson County has more than 200 households on the housing waitlist, according to Martin, which means they are instead living in places not meant for habitation such as garages, storage sheds or cars.

Kat Bloomquist with the Western North Carolina-based MANNA FoodBank spoke next. In Henderson County, the organization works with 17 churches and food pantries as well as 16 schools, distributing more than 1.6 million pounds of food to 12,000 people in the 2017-18 fiscal year.

Bloomquist said the scope of need is beyond what MANNA’s partner agencies can reach. Wages have not increased since the 2008 recession, she said, while cost of housing, childcare and more have.

“It’s this gap in income that families are struggling to make ends meet,” Bloomquist said. “I want to open the dialogue of who we serve and who can come get help: anyone, whether you need it one day, a week, a year. Encourage people that you know or meet to come and get food.”

Bloomquist noted many of those being served are nurses, teachers and working people. She said poverty is not that same as many thought 10 years ago. Poverty is in your backyard.

“There’s food out there for everyone to eat on this earth,” she said. “There’s food in Henderson County for everyone to eat. It’s about knowing where the resources are and being comfortable enough to get there.”

“If you struggle to maintain life because of some behavioral health issue - your difficulty holding that job, paying that rent, obtaining that food - all of those are just heightened,” she said. “Everything becomes that much more difficult when you’re struggling with behavioral health issues.”

Long said county leaders are focusing on four areas to address behavioral health. One is at the Henderson County Detention Center where 85 percent of those detained have a behavioral health issue. The county’s proposed 2019-20 fiscal budget funds a new position in the detention center dedicated to help navigate behavioral health concerns.

Other areas include the need to address after-hours care for behavioral health, increased substance abuse treatment centers and developing a digital road map to help those in need get from point A to point B, Long said.

While the need for volunteers and donations was made clear, the speakers encouraged the group to advocate against the ‘not in my backyard’ (NIMBY) resident uprising that has caused government officials to cease several proposed housing and road projects as well as a rehab facility.

“I’m not saying go and advocate when it’s not in your neighborhood, I’m also saying go and advocate when it’s in your neighborhood,” said Martin. “Everybody deserves safe housing. There’s not a single person on this planet who does not deserve safe housing.”

“We have a big problem with NIMBY here,” Long said. “We know we need affordable housing. We know we need substance abuse treatment. We know we need these things, and our community rises up every time and says ‘no, not here.’ We’re creating generational problems…please be a counter voice that we do need these here.”

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